P
alm’s hard drive-based LifeDrive was, apparently, as much fun and games
as the company could take for a while, so it’s back to business with the
Palm TX, a sleek upgrade of the Tungsten T5. The staid 312MHz Bulverde proc
from Intel, the 320x480 LCD, and the 128MB of nonvolatile RAM won’t win over
any hardware fetishists, but neither will the reasonable $300 price frighten
away the rest of the flock. The TX weighs a bit more than 5 ounces, and 100MB
of the built-in memory is available for your day-job spreadsheets and email.
Anything more than that, such as movies or MP3s, would be best copied to an
SD card and dropped into the TX’s expansion slot.
Go ahead and breathe a sigh of relief—the TX supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
connections, so you can web surf, check your email (the bundled VersaMail 3.1
supports up to eight accounts, including POP, IMAP, and Microsoft Exchange
servers), and grab stuff from a co-worker’s PDA with your invisible hands. We
miss, however, the Drive Mode available on the T5 and LifeDrive which allows
your handheld to be recognized as an external storage device through any USB
connection. Battery life was acceptable, with continuous MP3 playback clocking
in at a hair more than eight hours.
Palm still lords over Windows Mobile (even the 5.0 version) in one-handed
navigation, allowing you to use the five-way rocker switch and application but-
tons to launch applications, scroll through directories, and select files without
using the stylus or taking your other hand off your revolver. And switching from
portrait to landscape mode is much easier than in Windows Mobile—you can
change with a single stylus tap.The best part, however, has to be seen to be believed—the screen is
gorgeous and visible even in direct sunlight or in the car. That alone is
reason enough to put your old
Palm in a shoebox and bury it in
the backyard.
—LOGAN DECKERPalm TX
There’s life after the LifeDrive
The deep, dark
blue finish of the
Palm TX is plastic,
but appears hand-
somely metallic,
and won’t scratch
when breathed on
(hello, Apple?)
PALM TX
8
$300, http://www.palm.com3 "4.7”